Chad's government has said security forces had thwarted an alleged effort to destabilize the country, after a group of people attacked the presidential palace in the capital, N'Djamena.
"An attempt at destabilization has been foiled. Nineteen people died and six were injured, including 18 assailants and one soldier," Foreign Minister Abderaman Koulamallah told state TV.
He added that 24 individuals armed with knives, rather than guns, had attacked the guards around the presidential palace. Calm has now returned to N'Djamena.
Chad is a landlocked country in northern-central Africa which, since gaining independence from France in 1960, has seen frequent periods of instability and fighting, most recently between government forces and those of Islamist group Boko Haram.
At the end of 2024, Chad held a set of parliamentary elections that the government touted as the first step in a transition from military to civilian rule. Opposition groups, however, urged their supporters to boycott the vote over concerns about voter fraud.
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